AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I was wondering what you’re doing the rest of the day. It’ll be around lunchtime when we get back to town.”
“I need to check in on one of the work sites; then I have a stack of invoices to go through before the weekend.”
“But you still need to eat lunch, right?”
“I’ll just grab something on the way to the construction site. Do you want me to drop you off anywhere in particular? Or is the apartment okay?”
Fawn doesn’t say anything for a beat, and I look over at her. She’s staring out the window, her hands twisting nervously in her lap.
“Apartment is fine,” she clips out.
I stare at her, not sure where the attitude is coming from. I thought I was being nice by offering to drop her off somewhere. She mentioned lunch; I thought she was hungry.
Then it hits me. She wants me to take her to lunch. God, I’m anidiot.
“Actually, I was thinking we could–”
“I have some work to do, too,” she says cooly, cutting me off.
Shit.Why can’t I ever seem to say the right thing?
The rest of the car ride is spent in silence, but luckily, we’re only a few minutes away from home. I pull into the parking lot and hop out, ready to open Fawn’s door. She beats me to it, then wrenches open the back door and grabs her oversized suitcase, dragging it out of the car as fast as she can.
“Fawn,” I start, though I don’t know what to say.
She pauses to look up at me, but I have no follow-up. What could I possibly tell her that would make her feel comfortable with me again? I don’t mean to be standoffish; it just comes naturally to me. I’ll have to do better if I want to win my girl over.
Her shoulders drop when I don’t say anything, and I swear I see her blue eyes shining with tears. She turns around before I can be sure, though, dragging her luggage behind her.
I sigh and lean against my truck, running a hand through my hair while I try to figure out my next move. There’s no point in wallowing out here next to my car. Might as well stop in and see Irene. Maybe she’ll know how to help.
I shuffle my way inside the apartment complex and head to the front office, where Irene is lounging in front of her computer.
“Jensen!” she greets me. “How did it go?” Before I can answer, she stands up and looks around me as if searching for something. “Where is Fawn? Don’t tell me you left her in San Francisco. This town missed her enough while she was away at college.”
I give her my best smile, but I know she sees how weak it is. I want to kick myself for poking fun at her time in San Fran. No wonder she doesn’t know how to act around me.
“We just got back,” I start. “Fawn is in her apartment, and I came to see you.”
“Uh-huh,” Irene says slowly, eyeing me up and down. “What aren’t you telling me?”
I debate lying to her or brushing her off, but Irene has always been good to me. She’s an excellent friend to have, especially when it comes to relationship advice. “We sort of… hooked up,” I hedge.
Irene’s face glows as a smile stretches from ear to ear. Just as quickly, however, the light drains from her eyes, and she frowns at me.
“Hooked up? As in a temporary, one-night thing?” Irene’s disapproval of that idea is palpable.
“No. Well, maybe. I don’t know,” I finally admit, sighing as I crash into a chair next to Irene.
“I was hoping this trip would knock some sense into both of you, but I may have meddled too much.”
“What?” I ask in astonishment.
“Well, duh,” Irene says dramatically, rolling her eyes at me. “You’ve had your head so far up your butt you couldn’t see the perfect woman right in front of you. I know you’re stubborn, but so is she. You need someone like her in your life, and she needs you.”
I blink a few times, letting her words sink in. “You did this on purpose?”
Irene flashes me an exasperated look. “Is that really the only takeaway you got?”
